"Mourinho is a better coach than Ferguson," claimed Ibrahimovic. "Ferguson has much experience and I respect him but Mourinho is superior in lots of ways.

"Mourinho has really inspired me and I am prepared to fight against the United defenders.

"This style of game is actually preferable because from a physical point of view I will never take a step back. I am always ambitious and I want to show myself better than Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.

"They are two sensational forwards but I want to be better than this pair.

"In some ways, this is the game that should have been the final. These two teams are the best in Europe and it’s a shame that one of them has to go out at this stage.

"United may be champions of Europe but we are champions of Italy and I warn them that they are about to suffer."